I voted against the Anti-Refugee Bill
This week the Conservatives brought back their Anti-Refugee Bill to Parliament, in an attempt to rush it through as quickly as possible. The Tories know that their racist, unlawful, inhumane, and unworkable bill will not stand up to scrutiny. There are questions from both sides of the House about how workable the Bill, its legality, how much it might set back our fight against Modern Slavery and the extent to which it will result in inhumane treatment of refugees. But there should be no questions on these issues. We have all the answers. This Bill is unlawful under International Law. To implement its measures, the Government will need to break multiple treaties the UK has signed, including the UN Convention on Human Rights and the Refugee Convention. By all but ending the right to claim asylum, the Government will be making our country an international pariah.
The Government is unwilling to listen to criticism. The Home Secretary and Prime Minister have no interest in solving perceived problems. This Bill exists only for political purposes, as they hope that the crueller they act towards refugees, the better this will be for their poll ratings.
We should be in no doubt that if the bill passes and the Government defeats legal challenges to it, all before the next election, they will soon find it impossible to actually enforce the measures contained within the bill. The central act of the bill will see the Home Office deport any refugees who arrive to the UK via ‘non-safe routes’ back to their country of origin, or a ‘safe’ third country. The problem is that most refugees cannot be deported back to their country of origin because that country is unsafe, the only third country we can send refugees to is Rwanda, and they are only accepting a couple of hundred. So, the central consequence of the Bill will be the indefinite detention of refugees in camps which the Government will need to build to house them.
On Wednesday the immigration minister suggested that conditions in these camps would be in line with the conditions of existing detention centres. The conditions in existing centres are appalling. Thousands and thousands of victims of human trafficking, including women and children, will be imprisoned without trial indefinitely. They will have no right of appeal and no access to legal representation. Families will be split up. I will never support a bill that has these consequences.
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Strip-Searching Abuse Must End
This week the Children Commissioner’s report into the police strip-searching children was published. It makes for shocking reading for some, though unsurprising for those with experience in this field. More than half of strip searches are conducted without an Appropriate Adult present. Some children have been strip-searched in schools, or police vehicles. On occasion the police strip search children in view of the public and with officers of a different gender present. Black children are up to 6 times more likely to be strip searched than white children, a symptom of the Police’s adultification of black children.
This is a national problem, not contained to the Metropolitan Police, but a week after the Met were found to be institutionally corrupt, racist, homophobic and sexist I’m in absolutely no doubt that our police force isn’t currently capable of wielding the power to strip-search children responsibly and it is a power that should be removed until the Metropolitan Police is fit for purpose. Under any circumstances, strip-searching children should only take place exceptionally rarely. Even then, it is a process that must be handled with extreme caution and care.
That is not what’s been happening. Instead, Black children in London are being treated like adults by our racist police force and they face appalling acts of cruelty as a result.
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Homelessness Crisis
On Monday in Parliament, I questioned the Minister for Housing about the dire circumstances that some of my constituents are facing due to the shortage of affordable housing in London. I asked the Minister if the government could commit to uprating the Local Housing Allowance at least by the rate of inflation, to help ease the burden that many families are facing. Unfortunately, the Minister’s response did not offer much hope for those who are struggling with housing insecurity.
One of my constituents has been stuck in a Travelodge for seven months with his wife, a wheelchair user, and two sons, one of whom is autistic and has been increasingly distressed at constantly changing rooms. The number of families living in B&Bs for more than six weeks has increased by 180% in London in a year, as councils struggle to find affordable accommodation for families on benefits.
It is unacceptable that so many families are being forced to live in substandard conditions, especially when there are so many empty properties in London that could be used to provide affordable housing for those who need it most. As your MP, I will continue to push for a fairer housing policy that takes into account the needs of those who are most vulnerable in our society. The government needs to do more to address this issue, and I will not stop fighting until we see meaningful change.
If you or someone you know is struggling with housing insecurity, please do not hesitate to get in touch with my office. We are here to help and will do everything we can to support you.
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Access to Justice
On Tuesday, I raised cuts to legal aid with the Minister for Justice. I am deeply concerned about access to justice for my constituents who are often the most vulnerable in society. I was pleased to hear from the Minister that the government has taken some steps to increase the availability of legal aid, such as boosting the system with up-front investments and launching a review of civil legal aid. However, I believe that more needs to be done to ensure that everyone has access to legal aid when they need it.
In particular, I am concerned about the lack of availability of insurance for Law Centres in housing cases, leaving law centre clients open to costs if they lose the case, meaning Law Centres cannot take on cases. This is a serious barrier to access to justice for those who need it most. I urged the Minister to consider extending access to legal aid in housing cases and recognising law centres as exempt professional firms so that everyone can have access to justice regardless of their financial circumstances.
Finally, while I welcome the recent investment of an additional £10 million to boost the amount of legal aid available on housing matters, I believe that more needs to be done to ensure that legal aid is available to all those who need it, regardless of their case type or financial circumstances. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Parliament to push for greater access to justice for all.
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Thank you for taking the time to read my latest update, if you have any issues that you would like to raise directly with me then please do email edmontonconstituency@parliament.uk .
I’m always happy to help whenever possible.
Kind regards,
Kate Osamor
Member of Parliament for Edmonton
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